The 2026 Schedule

The 2026 MLB schedule is out, and it features the earliest domestic opener in history--Yankees at Giants on March 25.  It'll be the first standalone opener in nearly a decade.  The thing that's interesting about it, though, is how we have no idea what network it'll be on.  Will the Wednesday night game end up on NBC as a part of their yet-to-be signed deal to take over Sunday Night Baseball?  Or will it be on existing TV partner TBS (which has a weekly Tuesday game) or FOX (which does Saturday nights and some Thursdays)?

That isn't the only significant standalone game on the 2026 schedule.  The Field of Dreams Game returns for the first time since 2022, with the Phillies taking on the Twins (not the Mets, as was erroneously reported).  The date hasn't been announced, but the first two were on FOX on a Thursday night, so that would lead you to believe it'll be August 13.  Which, if it is the date, likely indicates that something else isn't happening.

Ever since the first Little League Classic, they've announced the next year's teams during the broadcast.  This year, they didn't do that.  They still haven't announced the participating teams.  Of course, the Little League World Series and Little League Classic have always both been on ESPN.  With Sunday Night Baseball likely leaving ESPN, that left you wondering how/if that relationship will continue.  I don't see any reason for it not to, and the Little League Classic is one of the best ideas MLB has had in years, so it would really be a big loss if they don't have one.  Maybe they're just waiting for their new TV partner to sign on before announcing the matchup.

If they do end up playing a Little League Classic in 2026 (which I sure hope they do), they have plenty of intriguing options among the other 14 series that weekend.  The choices are always somewhat limited because the teams need to be playing somewhere close enough to Williamsport for it to be a reasonable trip.  Keeping that in mind, there's one series that stands out and would be perfect--Red Sox at Pirates.  Boston is always a draw and Pittsburgh has Paul Skenes.  Frankly, it seems like such an obvious selection (assuming there's a game).

So far, the return of the Field of Dreams Game is the only special event on the 2026 MLB schedule.  More could be added, of course.  But things like the Speedway Classic and the game at Rickwood Field were announced well in advance.  A London series was initially planned, but the Premier League schedule didn't work out for it to happen.  Tottenham Hotspur ends the season at home, so they wouldn't have enough time to convert the stadium.

No other international games (not including Toronto, obviously) are currently on the schedule, although there are talks for the Padres and Diamondbacks to play two games in Mexico City in April.  With the World Baseball Classic being played during Spring Training, it makes sense that they aren't playing any games in Japan.  That would've required teams starting the regular season early, which they can't do with players participating in the WBC.  As it is, the final of the World Baseball Classic is only about a week and a half before the Yankees-Giants opener.

With America celebrating its 250th birthday next year, the All*Star Game is set for Philadelphia.  The Phillies can't be home on the 4th of July, however, because a World Cup round of 16 team is being played in Philadelphia that day.  The Nationals will play their traditional 4th of July 11 AM home game, though.  Against the Pirates.  The Pirates, meanwhile, will be home (along with the Yankees and Dodgers) on all three days celebrating MLB legends (Roberto Clemente Day-Sept. 15, Jackie Robinson Day-April 15, Lou Gehrig Day-June 2).

Next year is also the 25th anniversary of 9/11.  MLB will mark that somber occasion by having the Yankees play the Mets at Yankee Stadium.  The other Yankees-Mets matchup will be during "Rivalry Week," something that started this season and appears to be an annual thing moving forward.  From May 15-17, 11 sets of interleague partners will meet.  The other matchups that weekend are in-state rivals (Pirates-Phillies, Rangers-Astros) or the teams that are left and somewhat close to each other (Blue Jays-Tigers, Diamondbacks-Rockies).

Although their move to Las Vegas won't be official until 2028 at the earliest, the A's will get a sneak peek at their new home with a pair of series in June.  They'll play a homestand there against the Brewers and Rockies from June 8-14.  I'm not surprised by this at all.  For one, it exposes fans in Las Vegas to the team.  For another, there have been plenty of complaints about playing in a Minor League ballpark in Sacramento.  Of course, they'll be playing at another Triple A stadium in Las Vegas, but it makes sense to establish their presence in the market before the official move.

As for the other team that's spending 2025 in a Minor League ballpark, the Rays will start next season with three straight road series.  Their return to Tropicana Field is scheduled for April 6 against the Cubs.  That seems to have obviously been intentionally to give them a little more time to work on the repairs at Tropicana Field.  Hopefully it's enough.  Because I'm not sure what their backup plan is, and Steinbrenner Field was intended only to be a one-year situation.

Another interesting quirk that they had to deal with while making the 2026 MLB schedule was the World Cup.  Four teams--the Rangers, Royals, Phillies and Mariners--have stadiums that share parking lots with football stadiums that are hosting World Cup games.  They obviously couldn't make all of them play on the road for the entirety of the World Cup, so they had to come up with something.  What they came up with were scheduling oddities we wouldn't see if not for those conflicts.

On June 19, the United States has a World Cup game in Seattle.  That's right in the middle of a Mariners homestand.  So, the Mariners and Red Sox will play a rare scheduled doubleheader (in a stadium that has a retractable roof) on June 20.  There are nine World Cup games at Jerry World, more than any other venue.  Two of those dates--June 17 and July 3--fall in the middle of a Rangers home series.  So, they'll have a random off day before the final game against the Twins and after the first game against the Tigers.

Kansas City also has two World Cup games that are during Royals home series.  Interestingly, one of those series is against the Cardinals, and it's their only home series sandwiched between road trips.  The I-70 series will get a Saturday off day on June 20 before wrapping up on Sunday, June 21.  Then they'll play a Saturday-Sunday-Monday series against the Phillies to accommodate the World Cup on July 3.  The Phillies also have one home game being moved because of a World Cup game.  They'll play the Mets on Thursday-Saturday-Sunday, with the World Cup game on Friday, June 19.

To go along with the early Opening Day, the regular season also ends early next season.  September 27.  Of course, the season usually ends on the last Sunday in September, so that's just a result of the calendar.  But it also means the World Series won't dip into November.  Assuming they keep the same playoff schedule as this season, Game 7 would be on Halloween Night.  And that could be the last baseball game for a while.  Since a lockout looms after the season.